The Oracle of the Desert
by mslady17
Summary: Hyrule thought the Gerudo were an extinct race, that is until Ramla, a Gerudo priestess, comes to Hyrule with a warning. Once in Hyrule, her world gets turned upside down.
1. The Fall of the Gerudo

_Wow it's been a while since I've been on here and wow how it's changed. So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I've been super duper busy with school, but hey only one semester left. Woohoo. So I am a Zelda fan like many many others and I had this idea in my head so here it goes. Enjoy!_

_My story kind of is my way of connecting the dots between Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, what happened to the Gerudo Race after Ocarina of Time (the child timeline...I think...the timelines are so crazy lol.), and their part in Twilight Princess.  
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_3 Ms. Lady 17  
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_p.s. I don't own Ganny, though I wish I did all others characters are mine in this chappy. :D_

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><p>Many centuries ago, the people of Hyrule and the Gerudo lived together for the most part civilly. The Gerudo would keep the border between Hyrule and the Desert safe from the monsters that dwelled there and, once a year, the king of the Gerudo was to bring offerings to the king of Hyrule. While the people of Hyrule would allow the Gerudo, who was mainly an all female race, to come to the lands of Hyrule for supplies and to find men to mate with to keep the Gerudo race from going extinct.<p>

It wasn't until during the last king of the Gerudo tribe, Ganondorf's, yearly journey to Hyrule did the treaty break. Ganondorf was accused of treason and plotting to assassinate the royal family of Hyrule and sentenced to death at the Arbiter's Grounds. The loyal followers of the Gerudo King tried to free him before the execution but failed. It was because of this that the Gerudo race was forever banished from Hyrule.

Most of the race went on to other countries, like Termina, while others stayed at the Desert Colossus and the Spirit Temple. In Hyrule, the Gerudo became a myth. It was thought that the Gerudo race had become extinct; wiped out by the harsh desert climate and their inability to find mates to procreate with. That is…until one found its way to the land of Hyrule…


	2. Ramla's Visions

_Alrighty folks, here's chappy 2! Let me know whatcha think via reviews!_

_Thanks!_

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><p>Outside of the Desert Colossus, a young tanned woman with long hair of a fiery red tied back in a high ponytail and eyes like amber jewels stands with two scimitars in her hands. Sweat glistens over her body and makes damp spots on her white muslin garb as she looks from left to right. Movement from the corner of her eye catches her attention and she moves to parry an attack from her opponent. She counters the attack and moves to hook her opponent's foot with the dull side of her scimitar. Her opponent falls on their back and the young woman pins her down with her foot and holds her scimitars near her opponent's throat.<p>

"Do you admit defeat?" The young woman questions her opponent.

"Must I really say it?" The young woman's opponent responds.

The woman laughs. "Yes, Mumina, otherwise I will have to kill you."

Mumina, who looks similar to the young woman only smaller in stature and with shorter hair, sighs. "Fine…oh great warrior priestess of the Desert Colossus, Ramla, I surrender. Spare my life oh fair one!" she replies sarcastically.

"Hmm…" Ramla ponders. "Ok! But on one condition…you must do my chores forever!" Both of the women laughed.

"Yeah, I'd rather die than peel potatoes and wash the elder's abayas for the rest of my life. Now help me up, I'm starting to get sand in places it shouldn't go. Plus, we have to prepare for evening prayer. The moon is going to be red tonight and you have a special part in the ceremony."

Ramla put her scimitars back into their sheaths on both sides of her hips and helped Mumina up from the ground. "Yes, and Din help us if I am late again to evening prayer like we were last time. Abla, and her screechy old voice, chiding us for being late." Ramla began to imitate Abla. "In my 300 years of life here in this world, I have never seen such disrespect toward the Great Desert Goddess, Din. You two should be ashamed of yourselves, coming to evening prayer tardy and looking like a couple of desert vermin. Look at your abayas and hijabs, they're filthy! I pray Din doesn't see to it that you two are struck down for you disrespect towards her!"

Mumina laughed as Ramla imitated Abla but then looked behind Ramla and suddenly her eyes became the size of saucers and her laughter quickly ceased. Ramla looked puzzled but then realized why Mumina looked the way she did. "She's right behind me isn't she Mumina?" She nodded and Ramla slowly turned to see the elderly priestess with her greenish olive skin tinged slightly red, looking like she was going to explode any second. "But," Ramla quickly added, "Abla only chides us because she's much wiser and knows what's best. So we should go get ready for evening prayer right now Mumina." She grabbed Mumina and they ran off into the Desert Colossus to prepare for the evening prayer.

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><p>Evening prayer goes for the most part like this: The priestesses go into the Spirit Temple, wearing the ceremonial abayas and hijabs , get into a circle in front of the Desert Goddess (also known as Din) statue. They hold hands, they chant prayers, sing songs of praise to the goddesses, use magic to perform certain rituals, and do ceremonial dances. After that they have a meal together and they retire for the night.<p>

However, tonight is a special night. On the night when the moon is blood red, the priestesses perform a special ritual where the oracle foresees what has not yet come to pass. During the ritual, special candles are light, the priestesses sing and play instruments, while the oracle performs a special dance passed down from oracle to oracle that will help her get into a trance to see what lies ahead. Most of the time the visions were of rain coming, caravans of merchants coming to the Desert Colossus, or a severe sandstorm that was on its way.

The special part Ramla plays in the ritual is that of the oracle. Her blood is of a Gerudo and Sheikah. There are some nomad Sheikah tribes, not the ones who protect the royal family at Hyrule, that roam the deserts and occasionally come to the Desert Colossus for food, water, and other supplies they can trade with the Gerudo. Sometimes a priestess will catch the eye of one of the Sheikah men and they mate. If a child is born from the coupling, she will look like any other Gerudo but have magical powers of both the Gerudo and the Sheikah, thus being an oracle for the Gerudo tribe. If you look closely at Ramla's ears, you can see they are slightly pointed a trait of the oracles.

The ceremony goes as it normally would. All of the priestess, save Ramla, come into the Spirit Temple where they sing and pray. When it comes time for what would normally be the rituals using magic and dance, the priestesses light the special candles and incense, they began to chant and play their instruments. Ramla enters the circle wearing harem pants and a top of blue with gold coins and designs all over and a large blue jewel on her forehead. When she gets to the center of the circle she begins to dance to the music, letting the music guide her movements, the scent of the candles and incense intoxicate her, and the trance take over her body.

As the song continues, she goes into the trance and begins to see the visions. She sees in her visions beautiful foreign lands of green, then suddenly the land looks as if it is in twilight, but the sun is high above in the sky. With the twilight came dark creatures Ramla had never seen. Frightening images of the dark creatures destroying the land and its inhabitants come next to Ramla. She sees is a large castle and in the highest tower a Hylian woman with golden hair and eyes like pools of water stands at a throne sword in hand with her guards ready to fight the dark creatures. But there is too many and a man in weird pointed helmet and unusual clothes walks into the throne room. Ramla could hear the unusual man speak in her vision.

"It is time for you to choose: surrender or die. Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule... Life? Or death?" It was then that the woman in Ramla's vision dropped the sword and surrendered to the man in the strange armor. The last thing Ramla saw before her visions faded away was the sight of a man, shrouded in a dark aura, sitting on the throne laughing as he watched the world dim to eternal darkness. Then Ramla opened her eyes to find herself on the ground and the other priestesses' faces hovering above her waiting for her to speak.

"What did you see?" "Will we have rain?" "Will the merchants be coming soon?" "Is there another sand storm coming we need to prepare for?" "Will we ever find me lucky charms?" The priestesses bombarded Ramla with questions.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Akarkhentkats, the eldest and wisest of the Gerudo priestesses, silencing the others. "Give the child room to breathe and collect her thoughts." She instructed as the priestesses backed away from Ramla and Akarkhentkats helped her up from the ground and into a chair. "Now my child," she held Ramla's hand and patted it. "tell us what you saw in your visions."

Frightened, Ramla began to tell the priestesses her visions. "I saw a great and beautiful land, green and bright. It was like paradise. It began to turn dark, like the sun was setting but it was high above in the sky. It was like land was in twilight. But with the twilight came these dark and terrifying creatures that ravaged the land and its people. Then I was taken to a castle where a woman with pale skin, her hair like the finest golden silk, and eyes like pools of blue water was standing at the throne with sword in hand, with her guards for something. Then the dark creatures rushed into the room and an unusual man in unusual clothing and armor came in and said 'It is time for you to choose: surrender or die. Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule…Life? Or death?' The woman surrendered. My final vision was of a man in a very dark aura sitting on the throne, laughing as he watched the world go dark. Oh, Akarkhentkats! What could this horrible vision mean?"

The elderly priestess paused and thought. "I believe that the other elders and I need to have a word with each other about what we need to do. Everyone else may go retire for the night." And all of the priestesses, except the elders, did so. As Ramla got up to do what Akarkhentkats had commanded, the priestess called out. "Not you, Ramla. Step outside of the temple and wait for our instructions."

She nodded. "As you wish, Akarkhentkats." and she walked out of the temple and waited.

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><p><em>So that's chappy 2. If you guys and gals want to know what the dance is I based Ramla's on it's on youtube and it's called Zaar ritual dance and it's by Gal Shimron, ignore the weird guy with the hip movements though. .<em>

_If you want to see the outfit she wore it's on this website called eclecticdancewear and it's the blue and gold sequined and beaded belly dance top and harem pant set. I think it's absolutely beautiful and totally something a Gerudo would want to wear._


	3. The Decision and Ramla's Journey Part 1

_Look at me! I'm on a roll! Yippee! So here's chapter 3. If you like it, great! Review and tell me you like it. If you see something that needs to be tweaked, tell me via review. If this completely sucks and you want to tell me why that is, by all means review. I'm no pansy, I can take it. I, like many others, thrive on reviews. So please, don't be shy and review!_

_Thanks,_

_Ms. Lady17_

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><p>There in front of the Spirit Temple doors did Ramla sit and waited…and waited…and waited…and waited some more. She was getting antsy and her stomach was growling fiercely at her.<p>

"What in Din's name could they be talking about for so long? "Ramla thought and her belly growled at her again. "Ugh…I'm so hungry I could eat 5 Leevers easily but I'm so tired too that I just want to sleep." She looked around and saw no one in sight. Her eyes half-way closed already. "Maybe I can take a quick nap would do the trick." She laid down on the carpet that was at the entrance to the Spirit Temple floor." The carpet is quite nice and soft. Just gonna rest my eyes for a few minutes." Remla laid her head down against her arms.

Just as she was drifting to sweet slumber…SLAM! The doors to the Spirit Temple opened and one of the elder priestesses, Alba, came out. She scowled at the sight of the young woman laying on the floor like, which to her was very unpriestess like.

"You can come in now." The old priestess announced and tottered back into the temple with Ramla following her. Once inside the temple, Ramla saw Akarkhentkats and all the other elders sitting in a semi-circle in front of the statue. They motioned Ramla to sit in front of the semi-circle.

Akrakhentkats started. "We have discussed your visions, Ramla. The foreign lands you speak of are the lands east of here, the land of Hyrule. If your visions are correct, like they usually are, then we assume that Hyrule is in danger and if it is not stopped at there, it will consume the world." She continued. "Ramla, it has been decided that we must send someone to Hyrule Castle and warn the people of Hyrule of what is to come. That person is you, Ramla. You are to travel to Hyrule Castle and warn them of this new threat. You will pack for the journey tonight and leave before the sun rises tomorrow morning."

Ramla stared at the elders, shocked at their decision. "Me? You want me to leave here and go to Hyrule just to warn the Hylians of what's to come? After what they did to our ancestors? Putting our king to death for false accusations, banishing our people from there when we did nothing! Our people are barely surviving as it is and you expect me to help them? Akrakhentkats, I must protest. Let them deal with it on their own. I shall not go."

Ramla expected the elders to get angry with her, but they stood there like statues unmoved by her protests. "Ramla," Akrakhenkats began, "we understand your hatred for the Hylians, and we too have hatred of them for what they have done to our kind. But the past is past and it cannot be undone, all we can do is alter the future by our actions. Ramla, you are the strongest and the oracle. You're the only hope that we have of warning the people of Hyrule of what is coming and how to stop it. Please, Ramla…for your people."

Ramla was angry with the elders, but she knew in her heart that they were right. She would be the only one who could survive the trip through the desert and whatever else was in Hyrule. Anyone else who went in her stead would be committing suicide by going out there. Since she was also the oracle, she could easily retell what she saw in her visions. If they were true, the darkness wouldn't stop at Hyrule it would continue to spread to the other lands and eventually the world. As much as she didn't want to do it, she had to.

"Why couldn't this have been in Termina or some other country besides Hyrule?" she thought and then she sighed. "Very well then. I will go prepare for the journey and will head for Hyrule Castle by morning to warn them of what I have seen." She stood up, bowed her head to the elders and left the temple.

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><p>That night, Ramla dreamt of what she saw in her visions. This time she saw more detail than what she had seen last time. She saw the buildings on fire, tumbling to the ground. There were people running and screaming everywhere in the town surrounding the castle from the dark creatures running after them, ripping their bodies in half with a single swipe of their claws. Ones that could fly would swoop down and grab whatever they could with their talons, fly high into the sky, and drop their load back onto the ground. It was an absolute massacre.<p>

Her next vision was of golden haired Hylian she saw in her previous vision, except she was in a trance hovering over a throne like some kind of trophy. The unusually armored man stood beside the throne while on the throne was the man with the dark aura. Ramla couldn't see who he was because he was mainly in the shadows. She tried to see if she could somehow get a closer look at him. As she got closer she could see that he was stocky but quite tall and there was a streak of light coming from underneath his armor on his chest but she still couldn't see his face. She attempted to get closer, his face starting to get easier to see. She was so close to seeing a clear image of his face, but before she could…she woke up.

Knowing sleep would probably never come after dreams like those, Ramla got up and got an early start on preparing for her trip to Hyrule Castle.

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><p>By the time the sun was peaking over the horizon of the desert, Ramla was already up at the stable, dressed in her long white tunic, harem pants, and hijab with scarf on her neck that she uses to cover her face in the desert. She was putting the saddle on her dark gray stallion, Usi, making sure the saddle bags full of supplies for her journey were strapped in securely. For the most part she would travel lightly, taking a couple of sets of clothes, wood that she could use as kindling for her magic to make a fire, bowls for food and water, and feed for her horse until they could reach an oasis or grass, a small tent for her to sleep in with a mat to lay on, and of course her scimitars which she carried on her hips. Anything else she could get from the land or from the magic she possessed.<p>

When Ramla was sure she had everything she needed for the trip east to Hyrule, she took the Usi's reigns and walked him outside of the stable and to the front of the Desert Colossus. There, Akrakhentkats and the other priestesses stood waiting to say their goodbyes and wishing Ramla a safe journey to Hyrule and back. One by one each priestess came up to Ramla telling her to have a safe trip and how they would pray for her every day.

The last priestess to approach Ramla was Akrakhentkats. In her small bony hands was a small crystal ball that she tenderly handed it to Ramla. "Take this and use this crystal ball to guide you on your journey, Ramla. Tap it with the slightest touch of your finger and say what you are seeking and it will show you where to go. Should you ever need us, tap it twice and say the person's name you wish to speak to and you'll be able to communicate with whomever you wish." She clasped her hands over Ramla's. "We will pray to Din for your safe return."

Ramla bowed her head the elderly priestess. "Thank you, Arkakhentkats. I will return soon, I promise. " she put the crystal ball in a satchel, grabbed Usi's reigns, pulled herself up into the saddle, put the veil over her face, nodded to the priestesses, and rode off toward the rising sun.

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><p>Ramla rode on to the East following the map on her crystal ball to Hyrule Castle for three days. The trip so far was uneventful, save for a few Leevers and Moldorms popping out of the desert sand every so often. They were quite easy for Ramla to kill and were actually quite tasty to eat, especially if they were roasted over a fire. Ramla caught a few Guays every so often and they would taste like Cuccos only a little more gamey. When she or Usi were thirsty they would either travel to the closest oasis or if none were around, she would conjure up a block of ice and let it melt in the desert sun.<p>

It wasn't until she would have to set up camp for the night when she would become uneasy. Not because of any monsters she would encounter but because of her reoccurring dreams that would come with sleep. Every night it was the same dream, people being attacked by the dark creatures and the two mysterious men in the throne room. Who were they and why couldn't she see one of them? Did she want to know? These questions and many others were always on her mind as she continued on through the desert.

It wasn't until it was close to sunset on the third day that she reached the ancient ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds, which was on the border between the Gerudo Desert and Hyrule. She checked the crystal ball and it appeared that she was maybe a few miles away from the border and close to a large body of water. She figured if she made camp by the ruins for the night that she could rest and make it to Hyrule Castle by nightfall the next day and make her way back to Desert Colossus after she warned whoever was in charge about what was coming.

It wasn't until Ramla finished setting up camp did she think about where she was setting camp next to… the ancient ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds. She looked at the ruins and thought, "So…this was where those "high and mighty" Hylians murdered our last king…Ganondorf." She hated the people of Hyrule for what they did to her race. Because of them, her race had no king who protected them and their race was either in other countries or barely surviving in the desert. They were lucky to have any Gerudo children live past the age of 5. Most Gerudo children born now come out of the womb dead or are so sickly that they died very young. Soon, there would be no more Gerudos left at the Desert Colossus and all because of the Hylians.

Ramla's thoughts then went to Ganondorf. She had heard stories of how he was one of the Gerudo's greatest kings and was bringing the race to another Golden Age before he was murdered. The elders would tell stories of his great deeds as the king and his many battles that he fought and never lost any of them. He was an honorable Gerudo, treating every single Gerudo, rich or poor, like an equal and wanted what was best for the race. Ramla admired Ganondorf and even had a crush on him when she was a little girl. It was a fantasy of hers that he one day would rise from the dead, come back to the Desert Colossus, sweep her off her feet, and make her his queen so they could have little baby Gerudos and live happily ever after.

But, that was just a fantasy. Ramla was tired and she still had a long journey ahead of her. She laid down on her mat, hoping that she would dream her childhood dreams of riding off into the desert with her king instead of the terrors that had plagued her dreams of late.


	4. Ramla's Journey Part 2

_Woohoo, here's chapter 4! Thanks to those who have reviewed I wuv you! Anywho, please keep reviewing. Also keep in mind this is before the invasion of the Twilli so Lake Hylia is not drained...yet. And this chapter is partly why I have a T rating because when Ramla isn't at Desert Colossus, she can have a bit of a dirty mouth hahaha!  
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_Enjoy!_

_Ms. Lady17_

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><p>Ramla laid in her tent on her mat and fell asleep. She was actually sleeping well with no terrible nightmares for once since she first saw her visions. You could actually see a sort of serene look on her face. She slept just a blissful, no dream, sleep.<p>

That is, until a high pitched and very loud noise awoke the young Gerudo. She quickly rose up and listened to see if she could hear it again. She did and it seemed like the noise was a high pitched whinny from her horse, Usi. She swiftly got up from her mat and peeked out of her tent to see what was troubling Usi.

When Ramla glanced out of her tent she saw a couple of bublins trying to wrangle her horse. "Those bastards…"she thought as she quietly put on her sheaths carrying her two scimitars and sneaked out of her tent. One of the bublins was on Usi's back trying to hold on to the saddle while the horse was trying to buck it off. The other was attempting to grab the reigns from Usi's jerking head. Usi bucked and reared as much as he could and finally the bublin fell off backwards onto the desert sand. Disoriented, the bublin stood up but as soon as it rose it was kicked in the head by Usi's strong hind leg. The bublin fell to the ground again, but this time the bublin stopped moving as the blood began to drain from its skull.

"Well that's one down," Ramla thought. The other bublin that was trying to gather Usi's reigns garbled something in a different language when it saw what the horse had done to the other. With a scowl on its face, it reached back for its club heading for the frightened horse.

"No!" Ramla screamed in rage at the thought that the bublin would even think of harming her horse. She ran as fast as she could toward the bublin with her scimitars out and ready to strike. The bublin didn't know what hit it until Ramla was already swinging her scimitars at the bublin's neck. The bublin's severed head fell next to its now lifeless body as Ramla ran to Usi to calm him down.

Ramla grabbed her horse's reigns. "Usi." She calmly said as she held onto the reigns. Soon, he stopped rearing and bucking when he felt that he was no longer in danger and had calmed down. "Shhhhh…." She whispered as she rubbed his head, ears, and neck. "Shhhh…I'm here, Usi. I'm here. Shhhh…." Usi snorted and nickered in reply to her touch.

Just as Ramla had finished calming Usi down, several deep and very loud horns started blaring and with the sounds of the horns lights filled the Arbiter's Grounds. Soon a horde of bublins, some on foot and some on boar-like creatures called bullbos, came running out of the Arbiter's Grounds towards Ramla and her steed.

Ramla's eyes grew wide. "…Shit…" she uttered. She used her magic to start throwing fire and ice at the horde to keep them at bay while she could gather what she could into her saddlebags, jump onto Usi, and head east. She could have stayed and fought the horde but there wasn't any reason worth fighting and possibly getting harmed to do so. She's rather flee and get out unscathed then fight and possibly get killed.

The bublins that were on foot ceased the chase to let the ones on the bullbos continue to chase after Ramla. Soon they were gaining on her. Seeing them getting closer, she spurred Usi on to go faster, but they still gained on her. When they were in range, they began to shoot fire arrows at Ramla that she would have to dodge or hit away with her scimitar. To keep them from getting any closer, Ramla began use her magic again to throw fire and ice at them. She hit one bullbo with a ball of ice and the beast tumbled over, squishing the bublins riding it underneath its massive weight. She hit one of the bublins steering a bullbo in the head with a fireball, causing the bublin to fall with the reigns still in hand and the bullbo to sharply turn and fall. The archer on the bullbo's back was thrown off and landed head first onto a large rock jutting out of the sand.

The volleys back and forth continued until it was only Ramla and one giant bublin on top of a massive, grayish blue, armored bullbo chasing after her. When it would get close enough to Ramla it would swing a large axe at Ramla, trying to knock off her head. Ramla, being a skilled rider was able to dodge the blows and retaliate with her magic. However, her magic would only knock it off its massive bullbo and he would recover and continue the chase.

"Damn." Ramla thought as she looked back at the giant bublin. "This thing just won't give up. I'm going to have to try one last shot and hope it'll kill it…or at least knock it out so I can escape." She aimed the palm of her hand toward the bublin chasing her. She focused all of her energy into this final shot and let it go. The large fireball flew from Ramla's hand and hit the giant bublin's head. It fell off its mount and with a mighty smack, hit the desert sand. The bublin wasn't moving as Ramla sped off towards the East.

"Yes!" roared Ramla as she pumped her fist into the air, not paying attention to where she was going. "Woohoo! I'm so bad ass! Nothing can defeat this Gerudo! I'm unstopa-WAAAAAHHHHHH!" she shrieked as her and her mount fell off a steep cliff into a large body of deep water below.

There are two known types of Gerudos in this world. There are the desert dwellers, like Ramla, and there are the pirates, like the ones you see in Termina. One major difference between the two is that the pirates have learned to swim. The desert dwelling Gerudo, who have limited water to swim in, can't swim.

Unfortunately, Ramla is a desert dwelling Gerudo and has never set foot in water that went above her knees…till now. As soon as she hits the water, she starts to sink to the bottom. She failed her arms and legs trying to breach the surface to reach the air she needed to breathe. But to no avail, she kept sinking to the bottom and was quickly running out of air. Soon, she began to close her eyes and everything faded to black.

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><p><em>Dun dun duuuuuuuunnn! Stay tuned for chappy 5 for more!<em>


	5. Hyrule!

Cold. That's how Ramla felt in the darkness…cold, alone, and afraid.

"So…this is what it's like to die." She thought.

Then in front of Ramla, a light appeared. A bright, very beautiful light that radiated with warmth like the midday sun at the Desert Colossus.

"Ooooooo…pretty light…I feel so…happy…" Ramla said. The light made her feel so happy and she wanted to go closer to it and bask in it.

"I want to touch it, no I want to hold it! Come to Ramla little ball of light and warmth!" Ramla cried as she skipped merrily to light. The closer she came to the light, the warmer and happier she felt.

But something was bothering Ramla and stopped her from continuing forward. "There's something I'm forgetting…" she thought.

But oh how she wanted to go to the beautiful and warm light instead of staying in the cold darkness all alone.

It was then she started hearing voices; at least two of them. Faintly at first then they started to grow. The light started to dim away. She chased after the light, but she began feeling pain in her chest that made her fall onto the ground. The pain felt like someone was punching her in the chest and her chest felt as full as a bota bag filled with water. The voices growing louder and more frantic as the punches to her chest kept coming. She felt a liquid coming from her lungs and with one hard punch to the chest the liquid pushed out of her chest.

As Ramla coughed up the water that was pushing out of her chest the light dimmed completely.

Ramla's eyes slowly opened. There she lay on the shoreline of a lake in a large canyon with the sun slowly peaking from the eastern horizon. She somehow had managed to get on shore and come back from the brink of death.

"But…how did I get here?" she thought.

"Is she dead, Fyer?" a shrilly voice to Ramla's left.

It was a strange looking man. His dark red hair was pointed like the top of a building she had seen in a book the elders read to her when she was a little girl, he had a weird shaped head, a long bulbous nose, and wore really odd makeup, sort of like the makeup of some of the caravans of performers that would ride by the Desert Colossus sometimes. Ramla could see by the wrinkles on the man's face and chest and the potbelly that he was older. His clothes were brightly colored and had festive patterns on them. A clown. That's what the man looked like, a clown that may have past his prime.

"No, Falbi, she's not. Can't you see she's breathing and she obviously has her eyes open," Another voice said to Ramla's right. The voice belonged to a short older man, who with his bright colored garb looked like he too was a clown at one point in his life. Only, he looked more…sad than the other clown for his face drooped with age making his mouth stay at a frown.

"Oh yeah! I see now," the man called Falbi commented. "Ooooo, and what big yellow eyes she has. Wonder if she talks." Falbi began to speak to Ramla very loudly and very slowly in her face. "Heeelllllloooooo. I aaaammmmm Faaaalbiiiiiiiii. Whaaaaaaat isssssssss yoouurrr naaaaaaaaammmmmeee?"

Fyer rolled his eyes and groaned. Ramla looked up at the other man with one of her eyebrows raised as if to ask him if the man was serious.

As if Fyer had heard her question he replied, "Don't mind him, he hangs around cuccos all day. He's doesn't get out much." He hobbled closer to her to help her sit up, "You're from out there in the desert aren't you?" He pointed to the cliff above their heads where the sun was peaking out to shine light onto the lake.

Ramla nodded. "Yes."

"Hooray she does talk! Oooo she's from the desert! Never seen desert folk before! We should have a party!" Falbi clapped.

Fyer groaned and smack his hand on his face. "Must everything be a party to you?"

Falbi replied, "Of course! What's not to celebrate Fyer? Everything is worthy of a celebration. The start of a new day, the cuccos flying around, even a new friend falling off a cliff and into our lives!"

Fyer rolled his eyes, "Anyway…" He brought his attention back to Ramla, "Miss umm…I'm sorry I don't think we introduced ourselves properly-"

"I DID!" Falbi interrupted.

"AS I was saying before I was RUDELY," he stared down Falbi before he turned back to Ramla. "interrupted. I'm Fyer and he's Falbi. We run some of the games here on Lake Hylia. You are?"

Not sure if she should use her real name since she just met these two, she gave them a false name. "I'm Anatia," she replied. "You said this is Lake Hylia, correct?"

"Oooo, yes!" Falbi joyfully replied, "Lake Hylia is the largest lake in Hyrule and it supplies all the water to the Castle Town, our capital."

"I'm in Hyrule. Finally! So that means the town mustn't be too far away if they get their water from here…" Ramla thought. Finally she was almost there. She just had one problem.

"Usi…" she uttered.

The two men looked at her confused. "Who or what is a Usi?" Fyer asked.

"My horse. Where is my horse?" Ramla demanded.

"Horse? Oh the horse that fell in the water with you? He's fine. Horses are natural swimmers. He trotted off somewhere after we got you both onto shore. Probably grazing somewhere." Fyer explained.

Falbi added, "We took his saddle, the saddlebags, and everything in the bags and laid them out to dry."

Ramla got up, angry that they thought they could just go through her things like that. How dare they! They probably were snooping around to see what kind of valuables they could swipe from her. Dirty Hylians would do anything for a quick rupee. She went to grab her scimitars from her holster to demand they take her to her belongings, but they weren't there. "What did you do with my scimitars?"

"Scimitars?" Falbi questioned, looking confused.

"She means those swords, dummy." Fyer replied. "Where did you put them?"

"Oooo those pointy things! They're with everything else drying up." Falbi said with a smile of accomplishment.

"Show me." she almost growled.

Falbi pointed up the shore toward some trees. There her things were hanging on low tree limbs drying or on the ground next to the trees. Usi stood nearby grazing on the sweet grass. She went over to inspect her items and make sure everything she owned was there and in the condition she last saw them in. Everything was there and dry. Ramla let out a sigh of relief as she put her scimitars on her holster and began to pack her things back into the saddlebags to continue her journey.

"Hey!" Falbi yelled as he scuttled up the shore to the trees. "Where are you going Anatia? Stay here for a while, play some of our games."

"I don't have time for games," Ramla remarked as she grabbed her gear to put onto Usi. Falbi followed her which irked her. "If you want your head to be attached to your neck still," she growled and put a hand on the hilt of one of her scimitars, "I suggest you get away from me."

Falbi's eyes fell down as his smile turned into a frown and he slumped back to the shore where Fyer was sitting. Ramla felt a little bad for threatening Falbi, but she wasn't here to make friends or play silly games. Still, they did save her from drowning. She could apologize, but her hatred toward the Hylian race wouldn't let her. It was best to just continue on to Castle Town and do what she was supposed to do.

When she was ready, she climbed onto Usi's saddle and took out her crystal ball to find the fastest route to Castle Town. Based on her crystal ball, it would take a day and a half to make it to the town. She set her course, lightly kicked Usi and clicked her tongue to press him forward and made her way to Castle Town.

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><p><em>Yay! Chapter 5 is done! Hope everyone is enjoying this! Writing it has been a nice break from school work. Again, reviews would be lovely!<em>

Ms. Lady 17


	6. Inside Castle Town

Hyrule wasn't exactly what Ramla had expected it to be like. It was a lot cooler than the desert that was for sure but still warm. It was even warm during the night and Ramla was able to sleep under the stars without the protection of her tent. The land was green and full of vibrant colors Ramla never saw before. The air smelled sweet from the fragrance of the flowers that were sprinkled across the large fields and forests that Ramla rode through. She's occasionally stop to pick some and put them in her saddlebags to save for when she returned to the desert and she could show the others about the beautiful land.

It was no surprise why her ancestors would have wanted to move and live here instead of the desert. It really was like paradise.

If only the people who lived here weren't those dirty Hylians who betrayed Ramla's ancestors, then maybe she'd stay here longer.

For the most part the only Hylians she had seen since the beginning of her journey were those two clowns at the lake. The permanently depressed one was tolerable but that yippy hap-happy one with the shrilly voice got on Ramla's nerves…a lot. Hopefully she'd never have to see those two again once she warned the Hylian Royal Family about the visions she saw. Then she could be on her merry way back to the desert where she belonged.

As Ramla rode, she would often think of many things. She would wonder how she was going to warn the Royal Family of her visions. Surely, they would be heavily guarded and no one who could just waltz into the castle whenever they pleased, especially not an outsider like her. Did they still have a ban on Gerudos being in Hyrule or did they forget her race ever existed? If they still had the ban what would happen if they saw her? Throw her in jail? Send her back to the desert? Execute her? Ramla didn't care to think about that.

"I guess we'll cross those dunes once we get to them, won't we Usi," she commented and patted Usi on the neck. Usi nickered in reply.

The sun was high above on the second day since Ramla had arrived in Hyrule when she finally made it to the large fountain and stairway to Castle Town. It was pretty, but it didn't even compare to the magnificence of the Desert Colossus. Now the Gerudos who built the Desert Colossus centuries ago knew how to build a marvel and Ramla was proud of it.

After stopping to look at the entrance for a while, Ramla pressed Usi forward and up the stairs toward the entrance into the town. Ramla decided she'd first look around the town and figure out if she would be able to see the Royal Family during the day or if she would have to lay low and somehow sneak into the castle at night. When she rode into the main square of the town she was surprised at how many Hylians there were. She'd never seen so many people running around in her life. There were a lot of guards walking around too.

Ramla was a little afraid. Every guard she past by she was scared to death he would see that she was a Gerudo and arrest her. But, none of them seemed to notice. She got up the courage to try and go to the castle. If she couldn't see the Royal Family, at least she'd be able to get a better idea of how to sneak inside.

She was nearly to the doors of the castle courtyard when…

"Hey! You on the horse," a coarse voice called out behind her. "Stop right there!" And Ramla could hear the clanking of one of the guards walking up to her and her steed. As the guard got closer, Ramla's heartbeat got faster. Sweat poured from her forehead and stained the cloth covering her head and face. Out of habit, her hand went slowly toward one of her scimitars on her hip.

The guard walked up close to the front of the horse. "Where do you think you're going? You know the rules; no horses are allowed to go beyond this point. And unless you have an appointment, sweet cheeks, I suggest you wait until tomorrow like everyone else to see Princess Zelda."

"I'm sorry sir," Ramla said trying to not punch the guard in the face. "I'm not from here so I didn't know. I do need to see Princess Zelda though, it's important."

"Yeah, yeah," the guard scoffed. "You and everyone else. Like I said, you're gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, you can check into Telma's Bar and Inn for the night or you can keep doing what you're doing and you can spend the night in Hyrule's jail," He suggested as he raked his eyes over Ramla like a starving man looks at a banquet. Ramla glared back at him. "No? Then move it."

Unenthusiastically, Ramla did what the guard said. But the entire time she glared at him and uttered curses on him under her breath. She could have skewered the guard like the pig he was, but it wasn't worth it. She just needed to find this Telma's Bar and Inn and wait till tomorrow. Then she'd finally be able to relay the visions and she'd be home free. But to make her feel better, Ramla did use a little magic to rust the man's armor. Not a lot but just enough to make it to where he couldn't move. She giggled a little as she rode on when he started yelling to his comrades to help him out.

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><p><em>I know it's short<em>_, but I hope you enjoy it! Telma's Bar will be coming up in the next chapter!_

_Ms. Lady17  
><em>


	7. Telma's Bar

Ramla was able to easily find a stable that would board Usi for Ramla for 20 rupees a day, but it took Ramla a good while before she found Telma's Bar and Inn. Partly because Castle Town is a very busy place with lots of different shops and she could barely read the signs since they weren't in the script she was taught to read when she was younger, but the main reason was that she wouldn't ask any of the civilians for directions even though it was obvious she was lost. She was almost at the point where she was going to ask a passerby when she heard a couple of guards.

"You're relieved of your post soldier." One of them said to the other, relieving the other of his watch.

"Took you long enough. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a pint of mead and a big fat cucco with my name on it at Telma's Bar," The other guard said as he walked off and headed towards the bar.

Ramla quickly and quietly followed behind the guard. He headed south and turned down into a small ally and down a flight of small stairs where the entrance to the bar was. Ramla didn't even notice the ally. Luckily she followed this guard otherwise she would have never found this place.

The inside of the bar was poorly light, but was large and had very high ceilings. There were a couple of long benches near the bar counter and a room separated by a large curtain that could be drawn opened or closed. In the room separated by the curtain there was another door that Ramla suspected led to the rooms for the inn.

Ramla, not wanting to draw attention to herself, found a small table in the corner of the bar away from the other patrons. She watched as the candle on the table glowed softly in the dark, flickering every so often. Ramla was so entranced by the candle's flame that she didn't notice the woman standing next to her.

"Ahem," the woman interrupted Ramla's train of thought. Ramla looked up at the woman. The woman looked Hylian from her pointy ears, but she her skin and hair color were different. She was tan, but not as tan as Ramla, and her hair was a dark red similar to Ramla's.

"Hmmm…she looks like she could have some Gerudo blood in her like me, but how?" Ramla thought. Maybe the Hylians let the woman's ancestors stay if they were only part Gerudo. Or perhaps her ancestors were the product of King Ganondorf "sowing his wild oats" in Hyrule before his death. Ramla wasn't too sure.

"Welcome to Telma's Bar and Inn, honey. What's your poison?" the woman asked Ramla.

Ramla raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Poison?"

"Yeah your drink of choice, darling, or would you rather start off with a meal? You're so skinny that you look like you haven't had a good cooked meal in months." The woman smiled.

"Um…I don't know," Ramla replied not sure what she would get. "What would you recommend?"

"Well, for you," Telma started, "I'd recommend starting off with the pumpkin soup. It's made hot and fresh with herbs and vegetables with a nice red wine. Then I'd get a nicely baked garlic marinated cucco with a side of mashed potatoes and sweet honey glazed carrots. Then finally for desert, a good old fashion pumpkin spice cake and a nice tall glass of goat's milk straight from the ranches of Faron Woods. How's that sound?"

The way Telma described the food, everything she recommended soundly heavenly. Better than what she had to hunt or scavenge for during her journey up here. Ramla's stomach growled at her to hurry up and say yes to the offer of food. "Yes, thank you. It all sounds great. I will also need a room for the night if you have any available." Ramla answered.

"Sure do, honey. I'll give the cook your order and I'll be back with a glass and bottle of wine," the woman replied and she walked behind the bar and yelled through a window into the kitchen Ramla's order. She grabbed a bottle of red wine and a clean glass that she set on the table Ramla was sitting at.

"So," Telma poured the wine into the glass and slide it over to Ramla, "You here for business or pleasure, hon."

"You could say business." Ramla said as she lifted the veil covering her face to take a drink.

"Ah, thought so," Telma mused. "I figured with the clothes you're wearing that you weren't from around here. From the looks of it, you look like you're from the desert. Am I correct?"

"Yes," Ramla replied as the cook brought over her pumpkin soup in a bread bowl.

"Ah, then we have something in common then. My kin is desert dwelling folks. I got tired of the moving around in the hot sun all day, so I left and came here," Telma explained. "Opened up this place and the rest, well is history. You know, you can take off that veil if it's bothering you to eat and drink with it on. No need for formalities here, hon."

Ramla did as Telma said and took the veil off to reveal the rest of her face.

"Well, aren't you a pretty young thing." Telma commented when she saw Ramla's face.

"So you're not like the others here? You know, Hylian," Ramla questioned.

Telma laughed. "Oh goddesses no. I'm 100% desert folk. You'd actually be surprised how uncommon it is nowadays to be 100% something. Hyrule is such a melting pot of people, especially Castle Town."

"Interesting," murmured Ramla. That surprised her. How long has this been going on? Were the Hylians different now? Did they still remember the banishment they cast on her people? Maybe her people wouldn't have to always live in the harsh desert. Perhaps the Gerudo race would be able to come back and thrive once more.

"I don't think I caught your name, hon." Telma said breaking Ramla's deep thoughts again.

"Oh, it's Ramla," she said giving Telma her real name. For some reason Telma seemed like she could be trusted. Maybe it was because she was a woman, maybe it was because she was from the desert like Ramla, or perhaps it was Telma's kind nature. It could have been all three, but Ramla trusted her more than she normally would a person she just met that wasn't a Gerudo.

"Ramla, huh? That's a pretty name. Well Ramla, it's nice to have you here. If you need anything let me know. Here's the key to your room," she handed Ramla a key with a number 7 on it. "You'll be in room seven. It should be ready for you by the time you finish your meal."

"Thank you," said Ramla as she examined the key.

"You're welcome, hon. Enjoy yourself," Telma replied as she got up and attended to her other patrons while Ramla sat in the corner of the bar and finished her meal.

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><p><em>Woohoo I'm on a roll again. Thanks to those who read my story and review. I appreciate very much. Hope you are enjoying my story! Next chappy should be fun! Oh I also have a poll up about this story so I'd appreciate it if you went to my profile page and voted!<em>

_Thanks!_

_Ms. Lady17_


	8. Princess Zelda

Ramla thought that being in Castle Town and in a bed instead of being on the ground on a mat would help her actually get a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, she was wrong. She once again had the visions of Hyrule and its denizens being destroyed and of the two men, one in the strange armor and the one cloaked by the shadows. This time however, she could hear the two men speaking to one another.

"Almost all of the land is now under shadow, Your Grace," the armored man said reverently toward the man in shadow sitting on the throne. The face guard on his helmet was raised so Ramla could see the bottom half of his blue tinted face.

"How strange," Ramla thought. She had never seen or even thought that people could come in that color.

"Excellent," the man in the shadows replied, chuckling that his plan to conquer Hyrule was working. "Soon, Hyrule will be completely covered in darkness and it will thrive and then the world will be covered in the darkness and it will be all mine. No one will be able to stop it."

"What of the princess?" the man in armor asked.

"Once the land is covered completely in darkness, I will not need her. I haven't decided if I want to dispose of her, or see if she could be of some personal use as a slave." the man in shadow responded. Even though Ramla couldn't see it, she could feel that the man was smirking at his evil thoughts. "Why do you ask, Zant?"

"Well, she is quite pretty for Hylian. Perhaps with time, she may learn to be obedient and embrace the darkness. She may make pleasant companion," the armored man, Zant, answered.

"Ah, I see. You wish to make her your consort?" the man in shadow chuckled. "Very well then, once shadow has completely covered Hyrule and I have established myself as ruler you may have her."

Zant bowed to the man in shadow, "Thank you, my Lord." He grinned at the man in shadow.

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><p>Ramla woke up right after from her vision and couldn't go back to sleep. She was getting frustrated. Ramla was sick and tired of this vision that kept coming and ruining her sleep. She was on her way to castle, the goddesses, or whoever up there that was giving her the visions, should be able to see that and at least let her get a decent night's sleep.<p>

Ramla tossed and turned for a while, seeing if another position would give her the sleep she needed, but to no avail. So she just laid on her back, stared up at the ceiling, and reflected on her vision. This was the first time she could hear the two men speak. At least now she knew some more information. She knew that the one man in armor, Zant, was not from at least Hyrule and the countries surrounding it due to his skin color and the way he spoke. Zant was subservient to the man in shadow who sat on the throne. And for some reason, the dialect of the man in shadow sounded familiar. It sounded similar to the way some of the elders in the Gerudo tribe spoke but different at the same time. This perplexed Ramla, like the visions before, they only raise more questions than answers.

"Perhaps some fresh air will do me some good," Ramla reasoned. She slipped out from the warm blankets, put on her shoes and her scimitars, and walked toward the small mirror hanging over the nightstand in the small room she stayed in. She grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of her face. She decided not to wear her hijab since it was late at night and probably no one would see her since they were all asleep. Did they really care anyway if she had bright red hair and golden colored eyes? If people were as diverse as Telma had said perhaps they wouldn't.

Ramla walked out of her room and into the hallway of the inn. It was slightly colder in the hallway and Ramla thought about getting something from her room to keep her warm. She decided that it wasn't worth going back. Besides, the cold might help her think a little bit better. Ramla continued on down the hallway and into the bar. It was eerie how quiet the once noisy room was, only the sound of Ramla's footsteps as she walked to the door and the loud snoring of one of the other patrons asleep in his room. She continued and went out the door of the bar into the night.

Ramla walked around the now quiet streets Castle Town. The streets were slightly lit with the light of streetlights that spotted the roads with a warm yellow glow. It was peaceful and as Ramla wandered the streets she was able to think. She thought of her visions, her experiences so far in Castle Town, what the other Gerudos were doing, a scenario of what she was going to say to Princess Zelda when she meets her, and, strangely enough, she thought of Ganondorf. Wonder what would happen if he was alive now instead of back many centuries ago. Would things have been different? Maybe the people of Hyrule would be more accepting of the Gerudo now.

As Ramla sauntered through the streets, the sky in the East began to lighten up and early risers began to come out to start the day setting up their shops and putting up their wares. Ramla started to see maids go outside of homes to beat the dust out of the rugs and fetch water. Guards began to go to their posts and patrol the surrounding area. The cry of a cucco as the sun rose from the horizon began the start of a new day.

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><p>Ramla stood and waited for the giant closed doors to the castle to open. The guard that had been there yesterday when she tried to go into the castle wasn't there this time but surely they would open the doors eventually to let the people in to see Princess Zelda. Right?<p>

Ramla waited some more. Eventually as the morning went on, Ramla became a bit agitated. She grabbed the handle to one of the giant doors and began to push and pull but the door wouldn't budge. The guard said she would be able to see Princess Zelda tomorrow like everyone else, but was he telling the truth? Ramla got tired of waiting and decided she'd see about sneaking in. She looks around at her surroundings. She probably wouldn't be able to climb the wall without being seen by a guard. Perhaps, she could climb onto a roof of one of the nearby buildings and jump over the castle wall.

She decided that would probably be the best way to go. She went to the side of one of the nearby buildings that had vines growing on it and climbed up it quickly and quietly. Once she got on the roof, she examined the distance she'd have to jump in order to get on the castle's wall. She noticed a couple of guards patrolling on top of the wall and if timed right, she could get between them when they're facing away from each other and jump down the other side of the wall. She backed away from the edge of the roof to get a running start. She bounced on the balls of her feet and when the guards were facing different directions, she ran as fast as she could and leapt onto the castle wall. She then quietly hopped over the other side of the wall and down into the castle courtyard.

Using the bushes as hiding points, she snuck her way over to the main, large part of the castle. She noticed there were guards at the door. They weren't making this easy for Ramla. She looked around and saw no windows that she could possibly climb into, she had to get those two guards away from the door to get into the castle. She noticed some boxes and vases on the outskirts of the courtyard. If she could somehow manage to break one of the vases, maybe she could get at least one to go over there to check out what the noise was, she could easily knock out the other one and get into the castle. But how?

It was then Ramla noticed strange and very hard seeds growing on the bushes. Maybe if she threw one hard enough, it'd break a vase. Ramla picked off one a couple of the seeds and threw them over at the vases. It wasn't until her fifth try that she got one of the seeds to break a vase.

At the sound of the vase breaking, both of the guards looked over at the direction where they heard the noise.

"Hey. Go check out that noise," one of the guards said to the other. The other grunted and walked over to check out what the noise was and why it happened.

While the guard was investigating, Ramla quickly and stealthily ran over to the other guard and smacked him really hard in neck, knocking him out. She then opened the door to the castle and ran inside before the other guard came back.

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><p>Ramla snuck around the castle for a while before finding out where the princess was. Princess Zelda apparently liked to look out from the large throne room, almost on top of the tall structure, onto her kingdom and her loyal subjects. Ramla wasn't sure why, it wasn't like she could see, much less solve anyone's problems from up there. But then again, the princess was Hylian and probably thought she could do anything while sitting on a throne. So up the tower Ramla climbed til she reached the outside of the throne room. Before she could go in, there was a noise of something made of metal falling onto the floor and then yelling.<p>

"No, no, no! This is all wrong! I said only wanted a lemon slice with 4 seeds in it, not 3! And look at this beef wellington! It's pink inside! I wouldn't dare feed this drivel to my hunting dogs! Tell the cook to make it right or else he's fired," a shrilly voice complained as things were heard crashing. "I want everyone out! Now!" And a mass of people shuffled out of the throne room as quickly as possible.

"My, my, my…" Ramla thought, "Aren't we a brat. Figures the spoiled little Hylian princess would be such a bitch." And she made her way into the large throne room. Inside the throne room, a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sat on a large and elaborate throne. "If my visions come true, she won't be sitting there for long." Ramla concluded.

Princess Zelda, still in a fit, saw Ramla coming into the throne room. "I said I wanted to be left alone! Get out!"

Ramla almost growled out. "I'm not one of your brainless subjects that you can order around, you spoiled fool."

The princess looked at Ramla flabbergasted. "How dare you insult me, you witch! Guards seize her!" she cried and her guards ran toward Ramla. Ramla disarmed her guards one by one and knocked them all to the ground.

"I'm not here to fight you, even though it seems you need a good kick in the arse," Ramla explained as she came up the throne to the scared princess. "I am Ramla, oracle of the Gerudo tribe. I've traveled all the way from the Spirit Temple in the Desert Colossus to warn you of things to come."

"Psh, I don't believe you. One, the Gerudo are an extinct race and, two, they were a gang of thieves with no magical powers like my kind. So I suggest you leave now before I blow your head off with my magic." Zelda said snootily as she raised her hand toward Ramla.

"Oh, you mean magic like this." Ramla produced a fireball and threw it at the princess barely hitting her head. Zelda looked at Ramla with shock.

"That….that's….That's impossible!" Zelda squealed.

"That's just the beginnings of what my kind can do. Maybe if you hadn't killed our king and banned us from ever coming back here centuries ago you would know that." Ramla retorted. "Now listen to me, because this not only concerns you, but your kingdom, and possibly the whole world. Your kingdom is in danger. A threat that no one has ever seen is coming and if it's not stopped here, it won't be stopped at all. I saw in a vision dark and ruthless creatures attacking your kingdom and enslaving everyone in it. They come with a shroud of darkness. I saw a man in armor come into this very room and force you to surrender. Then him and another man who I could not see sitting on your throne contemplating taking over the rest of the world. Does your pretty little head understand what I'm trying to tell you?"

"I understand perfectly," the princess said. "Now do tell me, Ramla was it, how do you propose I take care of this 'problem?' Since you must know everything about this," She emphasized the word problem with finger quotation marks.

"That's your problem," Ramla snapped, "I just came to here to warn you of what I saw and pray to Din that you and your people can stop it."

Zelda was about to say something back when a huge and earth shaking crash could be heard from outside then the sound of screaming and a battle going on.

Ramla stood there surprised, the words slipping out before she could hold her tongue. "It's already begun."

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><p><em>To be continued on the next chappy. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Sorry to those of you who like Zelda being a kind person, but I kinda like her being a brat right now. Don't worry she matures I promise. Anywho, reviews are nice. And don't forget to vote on my poll I have on my profile page!<em>

Ms. Lady 17


	9. The Usurper King

Previously…

_Zelda was about to say something back when a huge and earth shaking crash could be heard from outside then the sound of screaming and a battle going on._

_Ramla stood there surprised, the words slipping out before she could hold her tongue. "It's already begun." _

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><p>The light from the windows began to dim. Princess Zelda ran to a window in the throne room to see what was causing all the commotion below. After a moment, the blood in her face drained making the young woman look like she was about to faint. Zelda turned away from the window and began to pace the floor. Ramla didn't even bother looking, she had seen what was going on down there night after night, every bloody detail.<p>

Guards began to rush in and fill the throne room. "What's going on?" Zelda questioned one of the officers.

"Monsters…They're everywhere. There was a huge crash and then they started appearing out of nowhere. They've taken the rest of the town and the castle, Your Majesty," the officer explained. The rest of the guards stood in the throne room preparing for the battle to move up to the throne room. Zelda grabbed a rapier sword from next to the throne and readied herself to fight and probably die with the guards.

"Well, that's interesting. The spoiled brat is actually taking some action. It's kind of brave of her…for a Hylian," Ramla thought.

Then out of nowhere, black smoke came billowing into the throne room. Black creatures came running out of the smoke. The guards ran towards the dark creatures with swords drawn, but the creatures were too fast and with ease they disarmed all of the guards. Zelda gasped at the sight. The creatures held the guards in place ready to strike, but they didn't attack. Instead the black creatures just kept the guards pinned down or held them up off the ground.

The smoke cleared and the man in the armor, Zant, that Ramla saw in her visions walked into the throne room with two of the creatures following close behind. He stopped at the foot of the stairs that came to the throne. Zelda stood there, grasping the sword in her hand, frozen in shock and fear. Ramla stood off to the side, not wanting to be noticed by Zant or his creatures.

"It is time for you to choose: surrender or die," Zant announced. "Oh yes, a question for all the land and people of Hyrule…Life? Or death?"

The guards next to Zelda looked at her. She didn't know what to do. What could she do? Sure, she could say no but that would be stupid. It would be foolish to let this man massacre her guards and wreak more havoc on Hyrule. All she could do was surrender. And just like in Ramla's vision, Zelda dropped her sword as a sign of her surrender.

"A wise choice, princess," he commented, "Take the princess and her lady-in-waiting to the tower and lock them away. Put these guards down in the dungeon," he ordered the creatures. The dark creatures grabbed Princess Zelda and Ramla by the arms and escorted them to one of the tower rooms. The rest of the creatures took Zelda's guards and locked them away in the dungeon. Darkness shrouded the castle and the rest of the town.

Zelda stood at the window of the room her and Ramla were locked in. She stared despondently out at the darkness that was once her beautiful kingdom. "I've failed," she said mournfully.

"You had no choice," Ramla stated, sitting on the bed in the room rubbing the sides of her harem pants. The creatures took her scimitars and she felt unnerved without them or the holster on her hip. "You weren't expecting something like this to happen. No one would. You made the wisest choice under the circumstances you were given. Any person would have done exactly as you would have done." she added trying to console the princess.

It didn't seem to help the princess any. "There's nothing else we can do, Ramla. Your visions were right, and now the world is going to be shrouded in darkness. There's nothing we can do unless the Hero of the Gods can rise up and save us all."

"Hero of the Gods?" Ramla questioned.

Zelda explained, "Whenever Hyrule is in need, the Goddesses will choose a hero to rise up and vanquish evil from the land with the Legendary Master Sword. Or that's what the prophecy says."

"So what do we do til then?" Ramla asked. Zelda shrugged.

"We go find him." A voice replied seeming to come from nowhere. Ramla stood up and her and Zelda looked around the room to find the source. Then out of nothing appeared a small black and white impish looking creature surprising both Ramla and Zelda.

"Who are you," demanded Zelda.

"I am called Minda," the little imp stated. "I've come here to help. Zant is nothing but trouble and I need get him back to my realm so he can suffer for his crimes toward the Twili," she explained.

"How are you going to find the Hero?" Ramla asked, suspicious of the little imp.

"Simple, when he comes into the Twilight, the chosen hero will turn into a beast. It's the power of the Triforce of Courage that keeps him that way instead of turning into a spirit like all the others. Same way you're staying as you are, princess because your family keeps the Triforce of Wisdom." Minda explained.

"Then why am I not a spirit like the others?" Ramla questioned.

"How should I know? I'm not an all knowing, all seeing fortune teller. Perhaps you're just special." Minda laughed and played with Ramla's hair. She disappeared before Ramla could swat her away and reappeared over by Zelda.

"I will believe you, Minda, because I have no other choice. Find the Chosen Hero and help him defeat Zant and take the Twilight away from the land, Minda." Zelda begged.

"I will, but not because you asked me to but to get rid of Zant and have my home back to the way it was." Minda said and she disappeared.

"I don't like or trust whatever that Minda thing is." Ramla commented after Minda disappeared.

"We don't really have a choice either way Ramla. She's all we've got." Zelda retorted.

"Well then, I'm busting out of here and finding the Chosen Hero myself then." Ramla said and slowly opened the door to peek out to see if the guard was anywhere around.

Zelda gasped, "You're leaving me here to fend for myself?"

Ramla looked back at the princess. She shushed Zelda and replied, "You'll be fine. They're not going to do anything to you until Twilight has completely covered Hyrule. Now stay here and be a good princess." She looked out of the door again and saw no one coming. She went out the door and into the stairway.

Annoyed, Zelda mimicked Ramla, "Now stay here and be a good princess. Pah!" She huffed as she forced herself down in a chair and did what she was told.

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><p><em>I know it's short but it is important. More to come later on! Reviews are good and don't forget my poll on my profile page. I need that to help me figure out which way I can make the rest of the story go.<em>

_Thanks,_

_Ms. Lady17_


	10. Escape

The castle was eerily silent and dark which was good and bad for Ramla. It was good because she could hear something coming and hide in a dark corner, but so can the dark creatures that were probably roaming the castle since Zant took over. Ramla had to be extremely quiet and alert if she wanted to get out of the castle in one piece.

When Ramla exited the room where she and Zelda were imprisoned, she noticed as she was sneaking down the stairs, a window that she could reach. She jumped up into the window sill and saw that she could walk on the roof and possibly make down and out of the castle with not much difficulty, save for a few giant birds flying around and the roof being slippery from the heavy rain.

Ramla started to slowly make her way from the window sill and across the roof. "You're not going to make it that way," A voice stated from behind Ramla. Ramla in surprise jumped and almost slipped off the roof. When she turned to see who had spoken to her it was none other than Zelda, standing in the window.

"I told you to stay put," Ramla snapped.

"I know, but I want to get out of here and help find the Chosen Hero too. I know this castle like the back of my beautiful hand. I can tell you know that you're not going to be able to get out of the castle this way without being spotted," Zelda pointed out. "There's some secret passageways and tunnels I know that lead out to Castle Town that no one knows about except the Royal Family and a few of the Royal Guard. We can go that way."

Ramla nodded and looked Zelda straight in the eye, "Alright, fine, we'll go that way. Are you sure that no one else would know this way or find it?"

Zelda thought for a moment thinking of whom else might know or could know the secret passageway. She couldn't think of anyone else besides the Royal Guards but they would never tell. Zelda nodded, "I'm positive."

"Alright, princess. Lead the way," said Ramla. Zelda hopped back into the castle and walked down the stairway with Ramla following close behind.

* * *

><p>As Zelda lead Ramla to the secret passageway Ramla started to feel like they were going around in circles. She could have sworn they had passed that door with the chipped doorknob at least three times now. If they hadn't, Zelda really needed to consider fixing the castle up a bit.<p>

"You sure you know where you're going?" Ramla softly asked. Zelda, having a small look of doubt on her face, looked back and silently nodded at Ramla.

"I hope so." Zelda said to herself. Ramla thought she heard something up ahead. She grabbed Zelda by the shoulder to stop her from walking. Ramla heard it again and this time Zelda did too. It sounded like quick and heavy footsteps coming towards them. Zelda quickly opened the nearest door and both of the women ran and hid inside. The room they ran into just happened to be broom closet that was dusty and only big enough for the two women to stand there cramped next to each other. Ramla was not enjoying this one bit. Of all the rooms Zelda could have opened, she had to open the broom closet.

Zelda was about to whisper something to Ramla, probably a comment about the broom closet, but Ramla put her hand over Zelda's mouth. Ramla put a finger over her lips, silently telling Zelda to shut up. There were at least two sets of footsteps walking in the hallway they had just left from.

Outside in the hallway, both of the women could hear the owners of the footsteps conversing with one another.

"King Zant was sure pissed off when he found out not only that Minda had somewhere managed to infiltrate the castle but the princess had escaped as well," a deep and growling voice commented.

"The king has been searching far and wide for Minda and she was right in the palm of his hand," the other voice with more of a slithery voice, like a snake, added.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find the princess. Once we pick up her scent we'll be able to find her. She can't teleport like Minda can," the growling voice stated as both footsteps kept going down the hallway.

Inside the cramped broom closet, Ramla and Zelda began to relax when the footsteps started to fade away. Zelda sighed a sigh of relief, but when she moved her arm to stretch it out a mop tipped over hit a metal bucket that made a clanking sound when the handle of the mop hit it. Both the women winced at the sound. The footsteps outside stopped.

Ramla mouthed silently to Zelda, "If they open the door, attack them with your magic and run like hell." Zelda nodded that she understood what Ramla instructed. Ramla and Zelda both faced the door. Ramla focused her energy down to her hand and a small purple light began to glow in her palm.

The footsteps came back up the hallway and in front of the broom closet. "Sounded like the noise came from in here," the slithery voice stated. The doorknob began to jiggle and in slow motion the door opened. Before the dark creature could open the door all the way, Ramla and Zelda both hit the creature with balls of energy knocking it down and away from the door. Ramla grabbed Zelda's arm and ran as fast as she could out of the broom closet and down the hallway. The other dark creature chased after them.

Zelda and Ramla ran through the labyrinth of hallways. Zelda lead the way while Ramla would look back and try to stop the dark creature from chasing them by shooting fire, ice, and energy at it. Soon the creature was joined by others like it and a pack of them was now chasing Ramla and Zelda. As luck would have it, Zelda, in a state of panic, took a wrong turn and the women ended up in a dead end.

Both women looked back to see if they could correct their mistake, but the creatures had the only way out of the hallway blocked. Ramla stood between Zelda and the slowly approaching pack of creatures with both hands glowing in a purple light. The creatures stopped their advance and clapping could be heard coming from behind the pack. The creatures moved aside to let Zant, who was the one clapping, come up to the front.

Zant wore no helmet and for the first time both women were able to see his face entirely. His narrow yellowish orange eyes glowed like fire and contrasted his blue skin, his nose was flat but jutted out weirdly from his forehead, and his sharp narrow features were accentuated by the snake-like hood that covered his head and neck. Ramla thought he looked like one of the cobras that she would sometimes come across back home in the desert.

"Bravo ladies, a very bold and daring feat you tried to accomplish. But you failed and even if you made it outside the castle, you wouldn't have gotten far," his eyes gleamed as he smirked at the women. Ramla stayed in front of Zelda with her hands still glowing with purple energy.

Zant examined the young Gerudo and laughed. "How quaint, the lady-in-waiting protecting her princess from the big bad Usurper King."

Out of frustration, Ramla threw one of the purple balls of energy she created at Zant, but he easily dodged it and laughed even more. "Aren't you a feisty creature? My master, once he is brought into this world, would have fun with you. Now be good girls, get back into the room you're supposed to be, and prepare for the very important ceremony. If you refuse to do so, I won't be so pleasant to deal with. Understand?"

Zelda touched Ramla's shoulder, "Just do what he says, Ramla." The young Gerudo sighed and the purple energy emitting from her hands faded away.

Two of the creatures in the pack grabbed the women and Zant smirked. "Good girls," he said to the girls. "Guard the door and have them in the throne room in an hour," he ordered the creatures that had a hold of the two women and he walked off. The creatures pushed Ramla and Zelda forward to the room they were imprisoned in before.

The creatures pushed the pair into the room, slammed the door shut, and with a click the door was locked. There was no escaping the room this time. Ramla and Zelda were trapped.

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><p><em>Hope everyone liked this chappy. More to come soon!<br>_


	11. The Chosen Hero

There they were, Ramla and Zelda were again, stuck in the same room they tried to escape from. Ramla paced the floor of the room trying to think of a way to get out again while Zelda looked out the window forlornly. If only if Ramla could get the door open then she could try the way she was going before the princess stopped her to try another way. Yeah, that really worked out.

"Will you stop pacing, you're making me nervous," Zelda demanded.

Ramla muttered something in Zelda's direction as she continued to pace.

"What did you say?" Zelda snapped.

Ramla stopped pacing and snapped back, "I said, screw you princess. You know if you would have done what I said I could have made it out of this place. But nooooooooo, the little Hylian princess didn't want to be left alone so you just had to tag along and get us captured. Now we can't get out of here unless I decide to throw you out of the window and use your spoiled arse to break my fall. Now shut up and let me think."

Then Zelda did the unthinkable, she slapped Ramla right across her face. It didn't hurt Ramla, just a little surprised that the princess actually smacked her. "How dare you keep insulting me. You don't know me, you don't know what my life is like," she argued.

Ramla laughed, "Oh you really want to compare lives? Ok, while you're sitting on your little throne complaining about how many lemon seeds are in your water, I have gone days without food and water in the hot desert. I've been through hundreds of terrifying sand storms. I have watched my people suffer and die and I can't do anything about it. And it's all because your ancestors killed my king, who tried to make my ancestors' lives better, for false accusations and then banned my people from ever being able to come to Hyrule to continue our bloodline or seek refuge. Your people are the reason mine suffer and I will never forgive your kind that."

"The king I presume you're talking about is Ganondorf, right," Zelda asked and Ramla nodded. "Look, I'm sorry, ok. I'm sorry that you and your kind have suffered, but Ganondorf was no martyr. He was an evil man, Ramla."

"He did nothing wrong," Ramla protested, "He protected your border from the monsters in the desert, helped your ancestors fight in many wars, made offerings to the king of Hyrule, and you repay him by listening to a young boy who accused him plotting to assassinate the Royal Family? Does that not sound utterly ridiculous to you?"

Zelda paused, she never thought of the Gerudo's side of the story. All she learned about the subject was that the Gerudos were a tribe of power-hungry thieves that wanted nothing more than to take over Hyrule. The king of Hyrule wanted to make peace with the Gerudos and invited Ganondorf to Hyrule to make a peace treaty after the Gerudos helped in a recent war. Then someone accused Ganondorf of plotting to assassinate the king of Hyrule and supposedly had evidence so they tried and executed Ganondorf and banned the Gerudos from Hyrule. Zelda didn't even know the Gerudos were still in existence until Ramla barged into her castle.

"Thought so," Ramla remarked and went back to pacing and thinking.

* * *

><p>The two didn't speak to each other after the argument, they kept to themselves. Zelda sat by the window and looked out at her kingdom, while Ramla laid sat on the other side of the room thinking of how she can get out of there, what the "ceremony" was that Zant spoke of, and how her people were in the desert. She didn't have her crystal ball with her that Akrakhentkats gave her, so she wasn't able to check in and see how they were. She worried about them, but there was nothing she could do. She was trapped in Hyrule Castle.<p>

Suddenly, out in the hallway came a noise of something coming. Both of the women heard the clanking of chains on the floor and the pitter patter of feet going up towards the door.

"What in the goddesses' names is that?" Zelda pondered out loud. And as if to answer her question, the door opened and a grey wolf with blue eyes and Minda riding on his back enter the room and towards Zelda.

"Minda?" Zelda gasped.

The little imp smiled, "Eee hee! You remember my name? What an honor for me."

Zelda looked at the wolf Minda was riding, he was unusual for he had blue eyes, his ears were pierced, and he had a strange mark on forehead. "So, this is the one for whom you were searching," she asked. Ramla sat and watched the conversation unfold.

"He's not exactly what I had in mind," Minda commented, "but...I guess he'll do."

Zelda then noticed the wolf had a shackle and chain on its left paw, she recognized it as the shackles used in the dungeon. "You were imprisoned?" she asked, feeling bad that the wolf, their Chosen Hero, was imprisoned in her dungeons. "I am sorry," she added.

"Poor thing, he has no idea where this is or what's happened," Minda remarked petting the wolf's back. "So, don't you think you should explain to him what you've managed to do? You owe him that much Twilight Princess! Eee hee," she giggled at calling Zelda the Twilight Princess.

Zelda sighed, not really wanting to rehash what had happened but she had to tell the Chosen Hero so he could know what he was up against, "Listen carefully," she began, "This was once the land where the power of the gods was said to slumber. This was once the kingdom of Hyrule. But that blessed kingdom has been transformed by the king that rules the twilight. It has been turned into a world of shadows, ruled by creatures who shun the light." She then explained to the pair how Zant took over the castle and consequently conquered Hyrule.

"Twilight covered Hyrule like a shroud, and without light, the people became as spirits. Within the twilight, they live on, unaware that they have passed into spirit forms. All the people know now is fear...Fear of a nameless evil...The kingdom succumbed to twilight, but I remain its princess...I am Zelda," she said as she sadly finished the story of what has happened.

"She's a good story teller, too bad it's a sad one," Ramla thought.

"You don't have to look so sad!" Minda shouted, "We actually find it to be quite livable! I mean, is perpetual twilight really all that bad?"

Ramla frowned, "Midna! This is no time for levity." Then she remembered the creatures that were conversing with each other in the hallway. "The shadow beasts have been searching far and wide for you. Why is this?" she questioned.

Minda giggled and hovered over to Ramla, "Why indeed? You tell me! Eee hee hee!" She started playing with Ramla's hair like she had done before and teleported back onto the wolf's back before Ramla could smack Minda away.

Zelda then looked over at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace in the room. "Time has grown short. The guard will soon make his way back here. You must leave, quickly."

The wolf nodded and turned to make his way out of the door. Minda, being a playful imp, stuck her tongue out and made a face at Ramla as they left the room.

"I really don't like that little imp," Ramla stated.

Before Zelda could reply the guards, what Zelda said were called Darknuts, entered the room. They took both of the women by the arms and escorted them to the throne room.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Again, I have a poll up on my profile page, if you could vote or tell me via review what you think, please do! The question for the poll is "Should Ramla have a romance with a character in the story?" Tell me who and use the suggestions to write my story. Thanks!<em>


	12. The King of Thieves

The Darknuts lead Ramla and Zelda back up to the throne room for the ceremony that Zant was planning. Neither of the two knew what the ceremony was for or what was going to happen, but they were both sure it wasn't going to be good for either of them.

When they reached the throne room, Zant sat at the throne waiting for the two women. The Darknuts lead them forward until they reached the set of stairs that lead to the throne where Zant sat without his helmet on. His snake like features appeared more sinister in the ominous glow the candelabras next to the throne gave off. He smirked at them causing a chill to run down Zelda's spine.

Zant stood up from the throne and sauntered down the stairs to where Ramla and Zelda stood with the Darknuts strong grips keeping both of the women in place and from running away. Zant, who was at least a foot taller than both Ramla and Zelda, looked down at the two women in front of him, the petrified young princess and the Gerudo with the exasperated look on her face as she stared down the Usurper King.

Zant chuckled as he raised his right arm toward the side of the throne room where a black hole with red glowing lines strewn across it materialized. Zant lowered his arm and began to walk toward the hole. The Darknuts pushed Ramla and Zelda to follow Zant into the hole which was safe to assume was a portal to another location.

"Where is he taking us?" Ramla wondered as she and Zelda were pushed along through the portal. When they came out of the portal, they were inside a building with a courtyard, pillars with symbols on top of each surrounded the open area. There was a platform in the middle with a large mirror etched with runes facing a large black rock. Piles of sand covered the ground here, sand that Ramla knew very well. They were in the Gerudo Desert, more specifically they were inside Arbiter's Grounds; the place where her king was executed. Only this land wasn't blanketed in the darkness like the castle. Ramla thought that was very strange.

"What reason would he bring us here?" Ramla asked herself as Zant went up to the platform where the giant mirror was placed. "What is that mirror for, I wonder," she whispered to Zelda.

"That is the Mirror of Twilight," Zelda explained, "According to my family's ancient texts, the mirror was created by the Goddesses to banish the Interlopers to the Twilight realm for attempting to establish dominion over the Triforce using dark magic. My ancestors used the mirror to banish criminals who committed crimes against Hyrule or the Royal Family to that realm."

Ramla had heard the story of the Goddesses sending the Interlopers to another realm with the mirror, but she no one had told her the Royal Family had the mirror. She just assumed it was either lost forever or destroyed somehow.

Zant began to chant words foreign to both Zelda and Ramla as he raised his hands at the mirror. The mirror began to glow and emit a light that made an image on the large black stone across from it. The image on the stone began to grow and move. Soon a portal opened in the stone.

Zant began to chant louder and the earth began to shake. Zelda shook in fear and Ramla looked worried. Neither one knowing what was going to happen next.

A black figure became visible in the portal. Someone or something was coming from the other side of the mirror. Was this the man in shadows that Ramla had seen in her visions?

A ramp materialized from the portal connecting it to the platform where the mirror was as the dark figure took its first step out from the other realm. Zant bowed as the broad and tall figure walked down the platform and into the light of the desert sun.

Ramla's eyes widened as she fell to her knees when her legs gave out from shock. "It can't be," she uttered.

"It can't be what," Zelda asked scared to death.

The figure stopped a few feet away from the Mirror of Twilight and the mirror stopped emitting the light it once did. The figure was clad in black armor, white light emanated from an open spot in his chest armor. His skin was dark, almost green and his fiery red hair was pulled back to show the man's head piece that lay on his brow and sparkled in the sun. His yellow eyes looked out past the women and at the view of the desert.

He closed his eyes and let the desert breeze blow across his face for a moment, a look of serenity came over his face as he basked in the breeze and the hot desert sun. He opened his eyes again and looked down at Zelda, examining the scared princess. He grinned at the sight of the princess that was petrified in fear. His eyes then moved onto Ramla. The man's eyes and Ramla's eyes locked onto each other's; Ramla's wide with shock and a bit of awe and his curious and thoughtful as he examined the young Gerudo in front of him.

Neither one spoke. Ramla's mind was bewildered as it tried to comprehend what she was seeing. It couldn't be who she thought it was. He was dead…wasn't he?

"…King Ganondorf…" Ramla breathed as she looked upon him from her knees.

* * *

><p><em>Hey guys and gals! Hope you like this chapter, I know it's short but we finally see Ganny! Woohoo! More to come later on! Thankfully the 25th anniversary CD for Legend of Zelda is keeping me inspired to write.<br>_

_Thanks for reading, let me know whatcha think so far!_

_Ms. Lady 17_


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